Warning: Don’t read on if you don’t like talking about Sex Ed, periods, women’s health or all of the above

Growing up it was always hysterical when we had to go to Sex Ed; my friends and I would snigger as our awkward Geography teacher would peel a condom onto a banana, and everyone in the room (including our teacher Mr. Bradford) wanted to shrink into the sunset and just die out of embarrassment. I never thought I’d be reaching back to those days of Sex Ed in the hope that they may have educated me better in women’s health.

Originally published on the 28.02.18

“We need to be able to recognise when puberty strikes, and when something is extremely wrong”

girl sits in coffee bar wearing striped jumper dress, with brown to blonde balayage hair

Everyone I speak to though it’s the same story. Either they were educated poorly, or not at all. The education we all received was a quick ‘birds n the bees’ talk and that was that – good old British stiff-upper-lip strikes again. I think it’s horrendous that young girls are not educated more in sexual matters, but above all else, we’re not educated to understand our own bodies.

This rant is going somewhere I promise, bare with me. Young women need to be taught about their bodies from an early age, so they can recognise puberty and realise when something is extremely wrong. I’m only speaking up on the count of the girls in this blog post; don’t even get me started about how boys aren’t even educated to learn about their vernacular, and almost every guy I know has an engrained impediment to go to the Doctors for as long as they can remember.

“Living with chronic pain isn’t peachy keen”

girl sits in coffee bar wearing striped jumper dress, with brown to blonde balayage hair

I can speak from experience because if I’d of known from a young age to understand how I was meant to feel and what my body was supposed to be experiencing when I hit puberty, I would of known earlier that I suffered with PCOS and Endometriosis. Living with chronic pain isn’t peachy keen; I can safely say now after blood tests, many invasive exams, three operations and countless GP appointments later that those nights of tirelessly crying myself to sleep out of frustration and pain were all worth it. As now I know what is actually wrong with me – but boy, did it take some education, shockingly (or not so shockingly) totally on mine and my family’s part. Without the help, tireless research and guidance from my Mum I would not be in the place I am today, or as educated about my health issues as I know I am lucky to be.

“Parents are up in arms as their kids aren’t getting the kind of
health education they deserve”

girl sits in coffee bar wearing striped jumper dress, with brown to blonde balayage hair nursing a coffee in a takeaway cup

Now, I’m not versed in all things women’s health and I’m no doctor, but I can’t stress the importance of educating yourself to what is normal when you have a period. I won’t go into the gory details but you need to know what it’s meant to be like, so you know if you’re experiencing something that other girls aren’t. I knew something was up when I was only having 2 periods a year, lasting two weeks at a time and unlike any other pain I have ever felt in my life. Unfortunately it’s still in the headlines as you’re reading this post, because parents are up in arms that their kids aren’t getting the kind of Sex and Health Education that they deserve.

“PCOS affects 1 in 5 women, Endometriosis affects 1 in 10”

girl sits in coffee bar wearing striped jumper dress, with brown to blonde balayage hair nursing a coffee in a takeaway cup

This post really is here to act as an arch for any of its readers who feel at a loss and are looking for help. There will be plenty more posts coming up on georgieglass.com all about PCOS, Endometriosis and women’s health in general, I just felt like I couldn’t start talking about it until I have explained my stance on the matter, and what it actually is I suffer with…

Hi, my name is Georgie.
I found out I was a PCOS sufferer in 2007.
And an Endometriosis sufferer in 2011.

girl sits in coffee bar wearing striped jumper dress, with brown to blonde balayage hair smiling at the camera

Life does go on, with or without chronic pain. But you need to educate yourself in how you body works differently to others. There is plenty of information out there, but these are some of my favourite links, just to get you started:

https://endometriosis.org/

http://www.shetrust.org.uk/

https://pcosdiva.com/

http://www.pcosaa.org/

https://www.verity-pcos.org.uk/

There are plenty of amazing support networks out there on Facebook too, I am a member of a few, just type in ‘PCOS’ or ‘Endometriosis’ into Facebook, click ‘groups’ and find the ones relevant to you.

girl sits in coffee bar wearing striped jumper dress, with brown to blonde balayage hair nursing a coffee in a takeaway cup smiling at the camera

Are you a sufferer or PCOS or Endometriosis?
Please reach out to me in the comments below if you are, or even if you aren’t.
I’d love to know your thoughts on this piece, I hope it sparks some conversation.

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